My lavender is in full bloom with lots of pollinators. This bumblebee and skipper are super cute 🙂
in seeking sweetness
you find each little blossom
lavender lovers
~ Raven Ariana Simons ©2017
Bright Bee and Butterfly blessings, Namu Amida Butsu, Namaste
~ Raven
This morning was beautiful. It got hot, though not bad, later in the afternoon. I was able to get the little native bee that protects the milkweed. These are a megachiles (leafcutting) type of bee and chase other insects away as well as grapple with honeybees to try and drive them off of their beloved milkweed. The skipper is a different type than yesterday’s.
hi, little skipper
do you love scabiosa,
the purple flower?
~ Raven Ariana Simons ©2017
Bright Bee and Butterfly Blessings, Namaste, Namu Amida Butsu
Our hearts give thanks for the Grace in the Universe!
~ Raven
Today has been sunny and pleasant. Today I have a native bee (with an ant looking on), a milkweed bug, and a skipper. I still await the appearance of my beloved milkweed beetles.
little insect friends
I’m curious about you
where you come and go
~ Raven Ariana Simons ©2017
look who’s visiting
bees, beetles, and butterflies
it’s a sunny day
~ Raven Ariana Simons ©2017
Bright Butterfly and Bee Blessings, Namaste, Namu Amida Butsu
Our hearts give thanks for the Grace in the Universe!
~ Raven
Today was overcast. I was able to get some photos of my milkweed with a honeybee, a couple of different native bees, and you can even see an ant here and there if you look closely. The stripey bee we saw in the Cranefly and Native Bee 5/31 post. As I mentioned then, this bee loves milkweed and was seen today trying to chase off the dark honeybee seen below. The honeybee was not deterred. The teeny tiny bee was awesome.
every spring I wait
and look forward to milkweed
with visiting friends
~ Raven Ariana Simons ©2017
nectar for many
home to a few exclusives
marvelous milkweed
~ Raven Ariana Simons ©2017
Bright Milkweed and Bee Blessings, Namu Amida Butsu, Namaste
Our hearts give thanks for the Grace in the Universe!
~ Raven
The sunny day allowed me to get this big crane fly and a cute native bee. I often see this type of bee on milkweed.
sitting in the sun
a crane fly and native bee
in the sweet clover
~ Raven Ariana Simons ©2017
Bright Bee Blessings, Namu Amida Butsu, Namaste
Our hearts give thanks for the Grace in the Universe!
~ Raven
My neighbors’ lilac is blooming and the native bees are visiting. This lilac seems to bloom later than others I’ve seen around the neighborhood. The above butt belongs to a carpenter bee and the cute little bottom below belongs to a native bee that I don’t know the name of, though I see them around and have photographed them on milkweed blossoms during other years. Super cute!
busy native bees
sipping on lilac blossoms
bottoms up, pretties
~ Raven Ariana Simons @2017
Bright Bee Blessings, Namu Amida Butsu, Namaste
Our hearts give thanks for the Grace in the Universe!
~ Raven
“If nothing ever changed, there would be no butterflies.”
author unknown ~ From Butterfly Quotes
Sunday, October 4, 2015 – Today is day four of OcPoWriMo and our prompt for today is Do you believe in magic? When I look around at all the beauty that shares our planet with us I have to admit that this totally inspires the belief of magic in my heart. Sometimes even the hard parts of natural cycles, like death, can be beautiful. Artist, Georgia O’Keeffe, painted many bones in the desert that demonstrate this beauty and feel very magical. Today I had a monarch and other creatures in the garden. During the photographing of the butterfly I witnessed and documented its end. At first I thought it was caught on something in the buddleia and when I went to try and free it found that I could not and that it was being changed into another form of life. A very pregnant praying mantis had caught the monarch and there was no escape, even with my help. So I bore witness and felt sad. Though I know that the mantis has to eat to live, there have been few monarch sightings this year in my yard. When I went to visit the asters I found another praying mantis which was magical because I haven’t seen two in my yard at the same time (though I know it happens when I find their egg cases) and I wondered if this was the male that impregnated the female without loosing his head . Mantis has beauty and magic, as does the Monarch. There were also many other creatures out and about. I will share only one photo of the mantis and the monarch, as I did find it sad and had to search my soul for the magic because I was looking forward to writing with today’s prompt. I deeply considered only sharing the photos I took of living creatures and omitting the story of how the monarch’s life ended, but I felt that this would take away from the true magic that is part of the magic of the transformation in the circle of life and also something that was a rare sight to see.
“an icon for change,
mystery, and beauty
the magic monarch”
~ Raven Ariana Simons
“magic taking flight
on sun burnished wings so bright
you will be transformed”
~ Raven Ariana Simons
“sadly I witness
the circle of life and change
the fall of Monarch”
~ Raven Ariana Simons
“pretty little bees
in aster blossoms so white
beware of mantis”
~ Raven Ariana Simons
Namaste, Bright Blessings, Namu Amida Butsu ~ Raven
“We must look at ourselves over and over again in order to learn to love, to discover what has kept our hearts closed, and what it means to allow our hearts to open.”
~ Jack Kornfield
March came and then left like a lamb this year with unseasonably warm temperatures that averaged around 20 degrees F above normal, little precipitation, and setting at least one record breaking day for heat. February was also well above normal average temperatures.
Sparrows eating aspen catkins on 3/26/14.
Click here to go to the past post for March 26, of 2012, 2013, and more 2014.
Thursday, March 26, 2015 – Today’s photos on this warmer than average March day feature some lovely plantings in a condo complex behind my doctors’ offices. The mountains in the back of one of the photos are the Oquirrhs. I like the lovely spring blooms with the evergreens.
“today we have spring
these evergreens and blossoms
remind me of snow”
~ Raven Ariana Simons
“sculpted by nature
blossoms twine with living twigs
fruit tree poetry”
~ Raven Ariana Simons
Drops captured on forsythia on 3/27/14.
Click here to go to the past post for March 27, of 2012, 2013, and more 2014.
Friday, March 27, 2015 – Today we have a hover fly (aka flower fly) of some type, a native shrub in bloom (I don’t know the name of this one) and a paper wasp.
“jeweled wasp on bee hive
light dancing on spider webs
all life is sacred”
~ Raven Ariana Simons
“Let go of the battle. Breathe quietly and let it be. Let your body relax and your heart soften. Open to whatever you experience without fighting.”
~ Jack Kornfield
Scrub jay on aspen on 3/28/14.
Click here to go to the past post for March 28, of 2012, 2013, and more 2014.
Saturday, March 28, 2015 – Today was a sunny day with the honeybees enjoying the Oregon Grape in full bloom.
“are you my honey
scents the blossom to the bee
sweet love we will make”
~ Raven Ariana Simons
“Every flower is a soul blossoming in nature.”
~ Gerard de Nerval
Grape hyacinths on 3/27/14.
Click here to go to the past post for March 29, of 2012, 2013, and more 2014.
Sunday, March 29, 2015 – Here is the beautiful waxing gibbous moon with blossoms and blooms nodding in a breeze by one of the local county library branches. The last photo is my neighbors’ Buddha looking serene in the tulips. The photo at the top of the post is a closer look of him from today.
“spring blossoms dancing
moon rising in a blue sky
March is almost gone”
~ Raven Ariana Simons
“If your compassion does not include yourself it is incomplete.”
~ Jack Kornfield
Plum blossoms on a very old tree on 3/30/14.
Click here to go to the past post for March 30, of 2012, 2013, and more 2014.
Monday, March 30, 2015 – Today was another very sunny day and lots of pretty bulbs are up. Here are tulips, a daffodil, and some anemones.
“glowing in the sun
petals spread like butterflies
alight in the spring”
~ Raven Ariana Simons
“The flower is the poetry of reproduction. It is an example of the eternal seductiveness of life. ”
~ Jean Giraudoux
Honeybee enjoying the early spring nectar and pollen of dandelion on 3/31/14.
Click here to go to the past post for March 31, of 2012, 2013, and more 2014.
Tuesday, March 31, 2015 – Cooling slightly with some clouds and wind today. The first photo is Oregon grape in full bloom with an orchard bee heading in. I also have a tulip, apple blooms and a male house finch here in my little urban wildlife oasis.
“birds, bees, and blossoms
life awakening again
from this winter’s sleep”
~Raven Ariana Simons
Our hearts give thanks for the Grace in the Universe!
Namaste, Bright Spring Blessings, and Namu Amida Butsu ~ Raven
“Real poetry, is to lead a beautiful life. To live poetry is better than to write it.”
~ Matsuo Basho
Bee’s eye view of a primrose on 3/21/14.
Click here to go to the past post for March 21, 2012, 2013 and more 2014.
Saturday, March 21, 2015 – Today I saw the ground dwelling leaf cutter bees and also a house finch that didn’t seem able to fly far, though he was able to hop up into the miniature grove of aspen, Oregon grape and juniper that is part of my front yard.
“is this bird standing
because it is still too young
to properly fly?”
~ Raven Ariana Simons
“The journey itself is my home.”
~ Matsuo Basho
Pink hyacinth on 3/22/2014.
Click here to go to the past post for March 22, 2012, 2013 and more 2014.
Sunday, March 22, 2015 – Today my neighbors’ Buddha is dressed up in a little sombrero and a box elder bug seemed to be whispering in his ear.
“bright are the tulips
as they spring from the sweet earth
so swift the seasons”
~ Raven Ariana Simons
“Come, see the true
flowers
of this pained world.”
~ Matsuo Basho
Goldfinch on 3/23/14.
Click here to go to the past post for March 23, 2012, 2013 and more 2014.
Monday, March 23, 2015 – Today I journeyed forth to visit a new friend. We shared ancestor stories, green tea in an iron pot, fun company of a little Buddha named Aidan, and the play of light off of trees, clouds and pine needles from her balcony. Then I ventured home and stopped to see birds and clouds over the Wasatch. The photo at the top of this post is from this day.
“sun plays hide and seek
we share about ancestors
while sipping our tea”
~ Raven Ariana Simons
“Do not seek to follow in the footsteps of the wise; seek what they sought.”
~ Matsuo Basho
Anemone on 3/24/14.
Click here to go to the past post for March 24, 2012, 2013 and more 2014.
Tuesday, March 24, 2015 – Today was mostly cool and cloudy, though we didn’t get any rain. I was able to get a few photos of the orchard bees (osmia) in the Oregon grape.
“darting here and there
around bright yellow blossoms
little orchard bees”
~ Raven Ariana Simons
“Every day is a journey, and the journey itself is home.”
~ Matsuo Basho
Mini daffodils on 3/25/14.
Click here to go to the past post for March 25, 2012, 2013 and more 2014.
Wednesday, March 25, 2015 – Today was mostly sunny and cool and the plum blossoms are quickly falling.
“Sitting quietly, doing nothing, Spring comes, and the grass grows, by itself.”
~ Matsuo Basho
“so swiftly they bud
open and quickly let go
then drift to the ground”
~ Raven Ariana Simons
Our hearts give thanks for the Grace in the Universe!
Bright Spring Blessings, Namaste, and Namu Amida Butsu ~ Raven
“This is my living faith, an active faith, a faith of verbs: to question, explore, experiment, experience, walk, run, dance, play, eat, love, learn, dare, taste, touch, smell, listen, speak, write, read, draw, provoke, emote, scream, sin, repent, cry, kneel, pray, bow, rise, stand, look, laugh, cajole, create, confront, confound, walk back, walk forward, circle, hide, and seek.”
~ Terry Tempest Williams
One of the ladies out enjoying the urban oasis on 3/10/14.
Click here for post for photos for March 10, 2012, 2013, and more 2014.
Tuesday, March 10, 2015 – Today it was mostly sunny and I was able to get some photos of a few of the garden natives out and about. We have a young garden spider (probably a wolf spider), a tiny native bee, and a wee jumping spider.
“sitting in the sun
baby jumping spider waits
please don’t be afraid”
~ Raven Ariana Simons
“My voice is born repeatedly in the fields of uncertainty.”
~ Terry Tempest Williams
“here comes tiny bee
seeking pollen and nectar …
dandelion friend”
~ Raven Ariana Simons
“The middle path makes me wary. . . . But in the middle of my life, I am coming to see the middle path as a walk with wisdom where conversations of complexity can be found, that the middle path is the path of movement. . . . In the right and left worlds, the stories are largely set. . . . We become missionaries for a position . . . practitioners of the missionary position. Variety is lost. Diversity is lost. Creativity is lost in our inability to make love with the world.”
~ Terry Tempest Williams
Aspen catkins on 3/11/14.
Click here for post for photos for March 11, 2012, 2013, and more 2014.
Wednesday, March 11, 2015 – Today was totally overcast but I saw the very first opening hyacinths on the block, tiny chickweed blossoms, daffodil, as well as a few plum blossoms on a neighbor’s ornamental plum tree. The blossoms open were right next to the trunk while the rest wait to unfold.
“Buddha says there are two kinds of suffering: the kind that leads to more suffering and the kind that brings an end to suffering.”
~ Terry Tempest Williams
“blossoms opening
flowers springing from the ground
light up a grey day”
~ Raven Ariana Simons
“The Eyes of the Future are looking back at us and they are praying for us to see beyond our own time.”
~ Terry Tempest Williams
Daffodils on 3/12/14.
Click here for post for photos for March 12, 2012, 2013, and more 2014.
Thursday, March 12, 2015 – Some rain today allowed me to get a few portraits of drops on flowers and the leaves of flowers. Here are periwinkle leaf and blossom, daffodils and tulip leaves. The photo at the top of today’s post is looking east close to sunset at the Wasatch range. I also wish “Happy Birthday” to my mother who crossed the Rainbow Years quite a few years ago now.
“though the rain is light
thirsty ground soaks up what is
beautiful raindrops”
~ Raven Ariana Simons
“The world is holy. We are holy. All life is holy. Daily prayers are delivered on the lips of breaking waves, the whisperings of grasses, the shimmering of leaves.”
~ Terry Tempest Williams
Our hearts give thanks for the Grace in the Universe!
Bright Bee Blessings and Namaste ~ Raven
Grace and Mystery 